


these days don't end

by poetroe



Series: Wuko Week 2020 [3]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Bodyguard, Bodyguard, M/M, Party, Role Reversal, Roleswap, Sneaking Out, Wuko, Wuko Week, just lots of fun all around
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:20:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26270269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poetroe/pseuds/poetroe
Summary: Mako plopped down on the deep red settee, looking Wu up and down another time. “So,” he starts.“So,” Wu echoes. He’s wearing a wide smile, looking obnoxiously eager to begin his work for one of the leading families of the Fire Nation.“You must have experience protecting other important people for my parents to hire you,” Mako says. Wu simply nods. “Care to drop a few names?”“I’m afraid that’s confidential,” Wu says. His green eyes are glittering mischievously.Day 3 for Wuko Week: roleswap
Relationships: Mako/Prince Wu (Avatar)
Series: Wuko Week 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1905655
Comments: 5
Kudos: 119





	these days don't end

**Author's Note:**

> i had SO MUCH FUN WRITING THIS ONE !! listened to the songs vampire and superstar sh*t by dominic fike (thats where i got the title from) p much on loop, u can check those out for the vibes, also have fun reading !!

“This is Wu. He will be accompanying you from now on.”

Mako rolls his eyes and observes the boy in front of him. They’re the same age, but Wu is a bit more scrawny, and his black suit looks too big on him. Mako turns back to his mother. “Is this really necessary?”

Naoki gives him a sharp look. “Mako. I know you don’t believe the separatists form any sort of thread to you,” she puts her hand on his shoulder, willing him to meet her gaze, “but they’re a threat to every noble family. Including ours.”

A sigh leaves his lungs and his shoulders slump. If his mom wanted this so badly… “Okay, I guess.” His mother smiles.

“Wu is one of the best in the country,” she says. “I’ll leave you two to get acquainted.” With that, she leaves the sitting room.

Mako plopped down on the deep red settee, looking Wu up and down another time. “So,” he starts.

“So,” Wu echoes. He’s wearing a wide smile, looking obnoxiously eager to begin his work for one of the leading families of the Fire Nation.

“You must have experience protecting other important people for my parents to hire you,” Mako says. Wu simply nods. “Care to drop a few names?”

“I’m afraid that’s confidential,” Wu says. His green eyes are glittering mischievously.

“…Alright,” Mako mutters. “Is there anything you _are_ allowed to tell me about yourself?”

“Well, I was born and brought up in Ba Sing Se,” Wu starts. “But this job has pretty much taken me all over the world. I suppose rich and important people travel a lot.”

“Don’t get your hopes up with me, then. My mom has basically confined me and my brother to the house until this whole separatist conflict dies down.”

“That’s fine by me,” Wu says, apparently taking Mako’s words as an invitation, as he sits down on the settee next to him. “You have a very nice house.” As he says it he’s looking straight into Mako’s eyes, one eyebrow raised as if he’s talking about something else entirely. Mako sighs again. This is going to be a very long couple of days.

***

A week with Wu hanging around outside his room, in the kitchen as he eats and in the garden as he trains has exhausted Mako. Wu is nice enough, but he’s infuriatingly positive and never stops talking. He wears his baggy suit and his dark glasses and treats Mako like he’s made of porcelain, stepping in any time Mako as much as looks out the window. Perhaps the worst thing is that Bolin _loves_ the guy, so Mako has to wallow in the misery of his ordeal all by himself.

Wu is overly careful, but it’s a small blessing that he hasn’t started going through Mako’s mail yet.

A feeling of relief comes over Mako as he sees the Sato seal on one of the scrolls delivered to his desk. He breaks it and opens the letter, poring over Asami’s words.

She’s throwing a party, two days from now. It’s supposed to be a small get-together, just them and a few other kids from their social circle. Low risk, Mako thinks to himself, since the Sato mansion is pretty much a fortress; it’s been the seat of the family ever since the Fire Nation was still a collection of warring states. This party is the perfect opportunity to shake off his bodyguard and go have some fun.

***

It’s a full moon tonight. It’s not detrimental to Mako’s plan to sneak out; if anything, the added light is very helpful in finding his way to one of the Satomobiles his family owns, and getting in. He sighs as he places his hands on the wheel briefly. This isn’t anything new for him—his dad is alright, but his mom has always been overprotective of him. Briefly he wonders if he should’ve asked Bolin to come but, no, that probably would’ve been too big of a risk.

With that thought, Mako starts the engine, which sputters for a moment before turning off again. With a groan, he tries again.

“Sure you don’t want me to drive?” Mako nearly jumps out of his skin, turning around to see his bodyguard lounging on the backseat.

“Spirits, Wu, you scared the living daylights out of me,” he exclaims angrily. “What are you doing?!”

“Accompanying you to the party, of course,” Wu grins. “That’s what your mother pays me for, after all.”

Mako’s heart hasn’t recovered from being caught like this, it’s hammering in his chest. “How do you even know about that?”

“Do you really think I don’t go through your mail?” Mako groans and lets his head fall forward in defeat, resting his forehead on the steering wheel. “Of course I read it after you do, when you’ve thrown it away,” Wu continues, “I don’t know what kind of second rate bodyguard you take me for.” Mako vows to himself to burn every piece of mail he receives from now on. “Now let’s go, we’re already late for this shindig.”

That surprises him. “You’re not going to stop me?”

“It’s my job isn’t to detain you, it’s to protect you,” Wu smiles. He climbs forward between the two seats, awkwardly cramming his body through the small opening, and takes the passenger seat. “Even when you choose to do dumb things.” He grins again, all pearly whites, and Mako keeps watching him curiously “Besides, I love a good party.” Mako can’t help himself and grins back, as he shakes his head incredulously. Maybe Wu isn’t so bad as he first thought.

***

“Bolin isn’t with you?”

Mako shakes his head. “No, he’s the good sibling, remember?” He glances over at Wu, who is talking animatedly to some people next to the punch bowl. “He actually listened when our mom forbade us from going out.”

“That’s too bad,” Asami replies, pouting. “He’s always so good at getting the party going.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Mako replies with a grimace. “I brought someone who is perfectly capable of that.” As if on cue, the people Wu is speaking to burst out in boisterous laughter. Wu says something else, prolonging the laughs, before picking up two glasses and walking over to where Mako is standing with Asami.

“Here you go, Mako,” he says, handing him his glass before taking a sip of his own.

“Hey, I’m Asami,” Asami says, extending her hand to him. Mako spots an inquisitive glimmer in her eyes. “I organized this little party, and you are?” Little is an overstatement, Mako thinks as his eyes glide over the room. Pretty much everyone his own age he’s ever spoken to is here, in the great hall of the Sato mansion.

“I’m Wu,” Wu replies, ever-smiling, as he shakes her hand. “I’m Mako’s bodyguard.” Asami’s eyes grow wide—as expected, when the guys posted outside the door of the hall and patrolling the Sato estate must be twice as tall and three times as heavy as Wu. Wu grins as he spots her surprise. “Why, did you think I was his boyfriend?” He wiggles with his eyebrows and Mako tries not to choke on his punch.

“You’re not his usual type,” Asami says, grinning back, “but you guys would actually be a nice pair. Sorry, was the punch too strong?” Mako clears his throat. Annoyed, he can feel his cheeks burning.

“Not at all.”

***

The night is turning into the morning and Mako is having a surprisingly good time. Wu keeping himself busy, showing off his moves and talking to people left and right, something Mako is grateful for. He hasn’t seem some of his friends since the whole separatist insurrection began, including Asami. Having lost count of how many glasses of punch he’s had, Mako is feeling nice and warm, if a little unsteady on his feet. On his way for a refill, he bumps into Wu.

“Hey, man,” he says, as he drapes an arm around Wu’s shoulders, steadying himself by leaning into the other boy. “I haven’t seen you in a while.”

“Aw, you missed me,” Wu replies, smirking.

“Did not,” Mako mutters. “Why—uh, why do you think that?” Because the alcohol has him stumbling with his words and red in the face, maybe, or is that just the heat?

“Because you’re hanging off me like a baby tiger monkey,” Wu grins. Mako becomes aware of their closeness all at once—he remembers he has never seen Wu’s emerald eyes this close up, before—and quickly detaches himself. “You don’t have to be embarrassed,” Wu continues. “I’m a bodyguard, I understand the appeal.” Mako feels his face heat up even more, if that’s even possible.

He wants to make a witty comeback, or simply ignore Wu in favor of refreshing his drink, but he doesn’t get the chance to do either. With a heavy bang, the doors that connect the hall to the foyer are slammed open, and a rag tag group of people enter.

Mako is a bit too far gone to realize what’s happening. Their insignia, representative of the separatist faction, is clearly represented on their jackets, but it’s only when they start firebending that Mako realizes just _who_ they’re dealing with, here. “Oh, shit.” Trembling slightly, his hand comes to rest on Wu’s shoulder again.

“So these are the people I was hired to protect you from,” Wu mutters. His smile is gone and he looks more serious than Mako has ever seen him. Then he turns fully towards Mako, removing the hand from his shoulder but not letting it go just yet. “You just stay here, okay?” he asks, smiling reassuringly. His thumb rubs over Mako’s knuckles and he finds himself nodding silently. “Good,” Wu says. “I’ll be right back.”

Frozen in place, Mako watches Wu approach the men, who have started fighting with some of the party guests. There is fire being bended left and right, some of the attacks missing Wu by just a hair. He’s an earth bender, right? He had told Mako he was born in Ba Sing Se, right? So Mako just waits until he starts bending, but Wu just keeps walking.

One of the men shouts at him, attacking with a barrage of flames. That’s when Wu suddenly starts moving, dodging the fire and approaching the man in the same move, until he’s close enough to start punching him in rapid succession. And, to Mako’s surprise, the man collapses.

***

“You could’ve told me you weren’t a bender,” Mako mumbles. They’re on their way home and he’s slumped in the passenger seat, brazenly staring at Wu. After the first one hit the floor, Wu made easy work of the entire group, using nothing but his speed and his chi-blocking.

“Why,” Wu replies, eyes on the road, “so you could’ve discredited my ability to do my job? No thanks.”

“It’s not that,” Mako tells him. “I knew you were serious the first time you walked me to the bathroom at night.” He chuckles to himself at the memory: Mako, having just woken up to go pee, walking into Wu who was sitting outside his room. “I just, I would’ve liked to know that about you, I guess.” His dehydrated state is starting to catch up to him in the shape of a headache, pounding against his skull mercilessly. He rubs over his temple, but it doesn’t help. “Ah, fuck.”

Wu’s eyes flicker over to his, holding his gaze for a second, and he smirks. “Well, you know now,” he says, before twisting in his seat and stretching, reaching for something on the backseat. When he pulls back, he hands Mako a bottle of water. “Here, drink this.”

Mako smiles widely, suddenly overcome with gratefulness. “Thanks.” He drinks half of it in one go, before slumping a bit further and leaning his head against the cool glass of the window. “And, you know, _thanks_.”

With the bottle cradled in his arms, his eyes slowly close and he sinks into sleep, unaware of Wu sneaking glances at him the entire way home, unhearing the softly muttered “you’re welcome.”


End file.
